Everyone – from Hrithik Roshan’s wife Sussanne to his friends and publicist – advised him against showing his “fat” picture to the public. Then he asked me, “What do you think?” I wondered which actor in his right mind would want to share an “ugly, repulsive picture” (his words, not mine) of himself.
Actors are vain by nature; it’s part of their job to look good. “You are a brave man to even consider doing this,” I told him. He explained, “Everyone thinks I am genetically blessed with good looks and a good body. I want to show people the real picture. I want to share my story and tell people that they too can change their lives. Ten weeks ago, I was terribly unfit, and now I look like this (pointing to his fit and fab picture) This picture was clicked yesterday.” And he did this with a slipped disc. Read on to find out how he went from fat to fab.
When did you put on all that weight?
Two-and-a-half months ago. I started out from a very dark place. I was in deep depression because I was laid up in bed thanks to my back. I was eating all kinds of junk food – all the cupcakes and brownies that people were sending me to make me feel better. I was in a very bad state emotionally. With all the education I have about health and fitness, I didn’t see a way out in the short time I had to prepare for “Krrish 3”. Which is why I want to share this transformation tale with the world. I want to break the myth and tell people that we are all the same. We all can get in that state of rut, we all can get unhappy, but there is a way to bounce back. Being sexy is just a state of mind. My aim when I woke up that morning and took that “fat” picture of myself was to get so healthy that I would never be in pain again. I’ve lived through so many injuries and so much pain, that I can count on my fingers the days when I was pain free. I decided I needed to explore this possibility of the human body in a way that has not been done. My goal was to be pain free; the aesthetics is just a by-product of me wanting to be healthy.
Who is responsible for your transformation and how did you find them?
It’s thanks to a couple called Kris Genthin and Maraica Johnson. Kris is a trainer and Maraica is a nutritionist. I searched on the internet, talked to friends, trainers, doctors, physiotherapists and told everyone that I needed help. There was a bodybuilding show being organised here by Sheru, and he got in touch with my managers and told me about this couple. Everybody gave the same feedback that they would be the right people. I thought I knew a lot about fitness, but what they brought to the table was incredible. What I have achieved in these 10 weeks was done in the easiest possible way. I haven’t starved myself, I haven’t been killing myself working out. In fact, I am eating more food than I ever have. It hurts me to see that people who want to get into shape or be fit, starve themselves and do all the wrong things. I want the truth to be out there and I want people to identify with me and learn from my experience.
Share the details. Now!
I do cardio for half-an-hour in the morning, and a one-hour workout during the day. I have a slipped disc so I don’t do heavy weights at all. I’ve lost ten-and-a-half kilos, and my waist has gone down from 36.5 cm to 29.5 cm, all in 10 weeks. It’s quite mind-boggling, as I eat eight meals a day! Basically, we eat the wrong foods in the wrong way. There are so many myths about food intake that need to be broken. I am eating more food now than ever, so this information needs to be out there. I feel like we are living in a matrix and we are being fed all unhealthy food through advertising, but there are tastier and healthier foods available here. I’ve been eating more organic food. I don’t miss desserts. I’ve never had a craving. I was smoking for two-and-a-half years and I’ve given that up too.
You make it sound so easy!
It’s not a sacrifice! In fact, all you have to do is take a little bit of time. You know, your body gives you feedback. The magic word is initiative. We all know we need to feel a certain way, but we don’t take that initiative. It’s not about being fit, it’s about being healthy. If you just take that first step, it can change your entire life. This entire journey has been so inspiring that I want to do something with it. I want to make it available to the common man. Whether that means investing in infrastructure, building transformation centres… I want to make something big out of this. The idea is that even through nutrition you can get healthy if you do half-an-hour of cardio. I can’t remember the last time I was so inspired. I feel like I can fly and I want everyone to know that they can fly too. I want to change the health and fitness scene in the country. It’s so easy to be in the best shape of your life, but we just don’t have access to the right information.
Isn’t eight meals a day too much? Your metabolism needs rest, no?
You need seven-and-a-half hours of rest, that’s it. And you get that when you are sleeping. The body is a machine, but an organic one. It’ not made of iron, it is growing and changing at the same time. If you eat every two hours, your body gets used to digesting food more quickly and burning calories, and your metabolism stays high. I wake up with a lot of energy now. Initially, I would think I’ll loll in bed for five more minutes, but now I wake up feeling refreshed. It’s like I am in ‘ready to attack’ mode, but I need to calm down now as it’s become a bit too much!
Please continue!
How many people complain about being unfit and unhealthy? They suffer, they starve. They have just one grape a day! I have seen my sister struggle with her weight all her life, and she too has lost two kilos in one week thanks to this method. She is allowed to eat all day. Your body is intelligent. So when you starve yourself, it thinks there is a famine and no more food is coming, so your metabolism slows down and starts saving fat for survival. So never starve if you want to lose weight. The most important thing to do is keep eating the right food every 2-3 hours and cut off the carbs in your meal. It keeps your metabolism high. I am concerned for my kids, my friends, and everybody who is soaking up all the myths around us. People look at me and think that I was born this way, that it’s easy for me because it’s genetic, but I want to tell them that it’s not genetic. If I can do this when I had a double slipped disc and was smoking three packets a day, then you can change too.
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